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A statement issued on behalf of Mr McNeil's family and friends said: "We welcome the finding of the court that Jamie Reed will now be detained in prison/in hospital and will no longer be able to harm any other person for a very long time.

"The person Rob was has not been mentioned very much during this trial. Although he didn't have an easy life, Rob was a very generous, caring and kind-hearted man.

"He was deeply loved and we miss him every single day. Rob was vulnerable, slight of build and unable to protect himself against a larger, younger and stronger attacker.

"He was a wholly innocent man. He did not deserve to die in the terrible way he did, in a hospital where he should have been safe from harm.

"Once again, this case highlights the serious mental health problems that can result with regular and excessive abuse of cannabis and other drugs, and we would ask that more care and treatment is made available to such patients to prevent another senseless tragedy, and to avoid any other family having to go through the nightmare we have had to experience."